Norris McDonald's Auto Racing Blog

On NASCAR, pit crews and the Petit Le Mans

The Delta Wing finished sixth at Road Atlanta

News and musings following a big weekend of auto racing:

Bruno Spengler, a French-born Canadian citizen from Saint-Hippolyte, Que., won the German Touring Car (DTM) Championship Sunday for BMW.

He won the title in grand style by racing to victory in the last DTM race of the season at the Hockenheimring.

It was Spengler’s first championship. He was the good soldier for Mercedes for years and years but was never able to close the deal. He moved to BMW this season when the marque returned to the DTM after a 20-year absence and stepped right up.

The other Canadian in the field, Robert Wickens of Guelph and Toronto, retired after 20 laps. His rookie reason in touring cars was not the success that he, and his fans, had hoped for.

For complete details, click here

NASCAR Canada held a reception on Saturday at the Hyatt-Regency Hotel on King St. W. to honour the 2012 Canadian Tire Series champion, D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas, the other drivers in the series, and the many officials and sponsors that make the National Championship the success that it is.

Dana Gladstone of major sponsor Canadian Tire said a few words, as did series director Brad Moran. The drinks were free and the hors d’ouvres were hot. It was very nice.

However (there’s always one or two of those, aren’t there?), when NASCAR purchased CASCAR from founder Tony Navotny in 2006, it was a big deal. Following the 2007 season, its first under the NASCAR banner, the Canadian Tire Series participants were treated to a lovely banquet at an east Toronto hotel. TSN’s Vic Rauter was the MC and all the drivers, wives, crew members and sponsors turned out for what was a really swell time.

Since then, everybody’s had to make do with an annual two-hour reception and, frankly, it’s not enough for a National Championship.

This should be a Big Deal – and it’s not.

One other thing. If I went to Florida as a representative of the media of Canada and mispronounced the names of – say – some of NASCAR’s favourite sons ("I’d like to say thanks to Bill FRANK and the FRANK family . . .") I think I’d be run out of town on a rail.

This is the fourth or fifth year that I’ve had to listen to some NASCAR executive fly up to Toronto and mangle the name of the patron saint of Canadian motorsport, Gilles Villeneuve, while mispronouncing the name of the race track in Montreal that’s named after him.

Memo to NASCAR: It’s Sir-quee Jeel Veel-noov, NOT sir-cut gil vilnuff.

You would think someone would have had the good manners to ask how to say it corrrectly by now, wouldn’t you?

Okay, enough of that.

Jim and Joel Robinson, who produce the Canadian Tire racing TV programs for TSN, were singled out for praise and they do a great job. Here’s a link to a video that’s representative of their work.

Now, the reception was rife with rumour that NASCAR is on the verge of making an announcement about either a truck series race or a Nationwide Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park next season.

One fellow "in the know" said it was a lock that the Camping World Series trucks would be the headliner at the track next May 24 long weekend.

But with the Nationwide cars out of Montreal for 2013, I still say the possibility of that race being moved to Old Mosport is very real. And the fact that a Nationwide car was practising out there in the last two weeks just adds to the intrigue.

We should know in the next week or two at the most whether one or more of NASCAR’s touring series will be at CTMP next year. Cross fingers.

Just before I wrap up the "Canadiana" portion of this column, I must say that poor James Hinchcliffe must rue the day he agreed to travel to Australia to participate in a V8 Supercar race on the Gold Coast Down Under.

They ran two races at the weekend and he didn’t finish either one of them.

Click here for a link to a video showing how his first race went. And the second one wasn't much better.

Okay, moving right along, the Daytona Beach city council has approved an application filed by International Speedway Corp. to develop some land it owns adjacent to the storied speedway as well as an application from the Daytona Speedway itself for redevelopment.

Want to take a guess what that all means?

Hint: look all around downtown Toronto and what do you see?

Condominiums.

Actually, I’m surprised they’ve waited this long. And I’m puzzled why they haven’t started down that road at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, too.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship ran its sixth Chase for the Championship race at Kansas Speedway Sunday and it was won by Matt Kenseth. For complete details, click here.

Question: Kenseth has won two of the six races in the Chase to date. Why is he in NINTH place in the standings.

Why don’t the drivers who make it into the Chase start off even, as is the case in most other sports when the playoffs start?

Why aren’t the Chase drivers scored differently in the playoffs, with winning being the only thing?

It is wrong that Brad Keselowski and Kenseth have each won two races in the six that have been run since the Chase started (Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin won the others) and yet Keselowski is in first place in the standings and Kenseth is in ninth.

Nuts.

The North American sports car season is finito. Saturday at Road Atlanta, the American Le Mans Series ran its Petit Le Mans 10-hour race and the winners were (this can get complicated):

- Neel Jani, Nicolas Prost and Andrea Belicchi finished first overall and first in Prototype 1 driving a Lola-Toyota.

- Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz were second overall and first in P2 in an HPD ARX-Honda.

- Alex Popow, Ryan Dalziel and Toronto’s Mark Wilkins won the Prototyep Challenge class in an Oreca-Chevrolet. They were seventh overall.

-Scott Sharp, Toni Vilander and Johannes van Overbeek were first in GT in a Ferrari Italia.

- Henrique Cisneros, Mario Farnbacher and Jakub Giermaziak won the GT Challenge class in a Porsche 911 GT3.

Muscle Milk Picket Racing won the team and drivers’ championship in the glamour-puss P1 class. Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf fought back from early-race adversity to wrap up both titles.

Now, an incident at Kansas Speedway and another at Road Atlanta illustrated perfectly this weekend why auto racing is the most complex and exciting team sport there is.

At Kansas, Jimmy Johnson’s pit crew kept him on the lead lap while doing repairs to his car after he backed it into the outside wall early in the race. He recovered to finish ninth and to score enough points to stay just seven behind Chase leader Keselowski, who finished eighth.

It took the Muscle Milk crew a little longer – an hour, actually – to repair the damage after Luhr tangled with a GT Challenge car early in the Petit Le Mans. But their expertise and effort was unparalleled on this day and they got the car back on track for the drivers to score sufficient points to wrap up the championship.

Great stuff !

And one last thing: Don Panoz’s pet, the Delta Wing project powered by Nissan, finished sixth overall in the Petit Le Mans, driven by Gunnar Jeannette and Lucas Ordonez.

You will recall that Jeanette was knocked for a loop late in the week during practice and the race car emerged a mess. Once again, it was the crew that saved the day.

They repaired and reworked the car in time for Saturday’s race – an amazing achievement.

Panoz, in an interview, said he still thinks there is an open-wheel future for the car. 

Take it to Indy next May, I say. If Andy Granatelli could get his turbine to work there in 1967, Dr. Don should be able to find a way to get the DW into the 2013 classic's qualifying line, don’tcha think?

Fellows optimistic about NASCAR

Several days have passed since the two big races of the weekend were held (Sebastien Vettel and Matt Kenseth were the winners in F1 and NASCAR, respectively) so today’s entry will be more of a collection of random thoughts than race reports with comment.

First, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and its NASCAR future.

Ron Fellows told me during the weekend that the cancellation of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve was unfortunate for two reasons: as a driver, he likely won’t get to race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve again but, more important, that when it's combined with the cancellation of the 2013 Edmonton Indy, it’s not particularly good news for Canadian motorsport in general.

Fellows said he didn’t expect the cancellation of the Montreal race would lead directly to the Nationwide Series event being moved to his facility, although he didn’t deny that the possibility had crossed his mind.

But if anything, he hinted that if there is to be a NASCAR touring series race at Old Mosport in 2013 it will likely be a round of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

And he admitted to being surprised, and encouraged, by comments published on the NASCAR.com Internet site by Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing operations, who said the league is hoping to fill the Montreal gap with another national-series race in Canada next year, most likely a Camping World Truck Series event.

"Certainly we want to be in Canada in some capacity, either Trucks or Nationwide next year," O'Donnell told NASCAR.com on Friday. "That's a hugely important market to us. We've got some work to do certainly to make that happen. But we've got no complaints certainly about the fan base that turns out for the event."

O'Donnell called a potential Truck Series event in Canada "fairly realistic" for next season, although he declined to name the potential venue. "We've got a good shot at that," he added. "Nationwide, a much longer shot. You may be looking at 2014 for that. But I feel fairly good about our ability to bring a Truck event up to Canada in 2013."

So, in short: nothing concrete to report about NASCAR and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as yet but, as Fellows said: "It will be an interesting next couple of weeks."

I would add that it will be an interesting next couple of years.

Okay, moving right along.

Five Ontario drivers will be at the Indinapolis Motor Speedway this Wednesday and Thursday to participate in the annual Mazda Road to Indy Test.

The test is designed to provide drivers with seat time in USF2000, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights cars on the road course at the Speedway in order to showcase their talents to potential teams for the 2013 season.

Michael Adams of Courtice, Dalton Kellett of Stouffville, Nathan Blok of Pembroke and Matthew DiLeo of Innisfil will be showing their stuff in USF2000 cars. David Ostella of Maple will be auditioning for another Indy Lights ride.

Good luck to all those drivers.

Short takes:

- Lewis Hamilton is now reportedly "rubbishing" his teammate at McLaren, Jenson Button. I can hardly wait for him to get to Mercedes and try pulling some of this stuff. He’s going to a German team that has a German driver. Does anybody really think he’s going to be No. 1 over there?

- Romain Grosjean is getting a bum rap, I think. Crashing is what you get at the start of just about every F1 race because it’s a race. Some guys get going like rockets, others are not so fast. Kimi Raikkonen hit the back of Fernando Alonso’s car and Alonso was out of the race. Didn’t hear much about that. Grosjean hits Webber, who was able to keep going, and all hell breaks loose. Romain is everybody’s favourite whipping boy at the moment. What if it had been a veteran F1 driver who ran into Webber? Would he have been so vocal? Would he have been so insulting?

- I didn’t hear anybody criticizing Tony Stewart after the Big One at Talladega. (Grosjean might fit in really well in NASCAR . . .) I didn’t hear anybody suggesting that Stewart be thrown out of the next race. They don’t hand out grid penalties in NASCAR, do they?

Stewart owned up to making a mistake. "I was trying to win the race," he said.

Isn’t that what racers are supposed to do?

- I think I should run a pool on how long Kurt Busch lasts with Furniture Row Racing. One race? Six? A quarter of the 2013 season? Sunday, he makes a fool of himself again and this time he blames his "competitive desire." There is no hope for that man.

- The NASCAR story on the autosport.com website starts like this:

"Matt Kenseth claimed his second NASCAR Sprint Cup win of the season by driving through the carnage of a last-lap pileup at Talladega."

How can you drive through something when you’re already ahead of it? See photo above. Kenseth is in the pink car. The one in front. Which is where he was when the wreck started.

Stunning news: No NASCAR in Montreal in 2013

WILL WE SEE NASCAR AT CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK NEXT YEAR?

This has not been a good year for a Montreal promoter of automobile racing in Canada.

In September, Octane Motorsports Events, Inc., cancelled the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series race in Edmonton and filed for bankruptcy.

Today - Friday - Octane Management informed NASCAR that it would not promote the August, 2013,  Nationwide Series weekend at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal that over the last six years has also featured the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

As Octane Management holds the rights to auto racing at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, there is no immediate hope that NASCAR could find another promoter to continue racing in Montreal.

Octane promotes the Formula One Grand Prix of Canada and has a contract that runs through 2014.

There was one year remaining on the Indy race contract with the City of Edmonton when Octane Motorsports Events, Inc., announced the cancellation and filed for bankruptcy. Court papers in Montreal showed more than $5 million owing.

Octane Management operated on a year-to-year contractual basis with NASCAR, so no contract was yet in place for 2013.

Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette reports that NASCAR was caught by surprise. As reported by Stubbs, NASCAR senior vice-president of racing operations Steve O’Donnell said from Daytona Beach:

“We certainly feel like we’ve had a great run in Montreal and certainly anticipated being back next year, if not many years beyond that. That was our intention.”

Stubbs reports that O'Donnell said Octane Management head François Dumontier told NASCAR he wanted a Sprint Cup race by itself or for the Nationwide race to be on the undercard of a Cup race in order to keep the event alive.

Said O’Donnell to the Gazette's Stubbs: “Canadian fans are huge supporters of NASCAR and it’s very important for us from a national-series perspective to be there. So we’ll certainly explore all avenues to do that. Who knows what the future brings? But it’s unfortunate it didn’t work out in Montreal.”

The 2013 Nationwide Series schedule has still not been issued. There is now officially a hole in it in August.

I was at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last Saturday for the CASC-Ontario Region Celebration of Motorsport races and can report that work is progressing on the new Corporate Centre on driver's left at Turn Ten. All will be ready by spring and just about everything else about the legendary circuit formerly known as Mosport - sight lines, pavement paddock, RV parking spaces, and so-on - has been spruced up.

I suggest there is a very good chance that the Nationwide Series race originally scheduled for Montreal next August will just be moved 470 kilometres west.

We should have word on that very soon - in fact, maybe sometime this weekend.

One last thing: this will not be good news for the Indy car race(s) at the CNE next July.

Auto racing is all about buzz, and I can tell you where the buzz is going to be around here next year and it ain't gonna be at the Ex.

Racing roundup: On Danica, Jimmie Johnson and others

Musings, ramblings and confessions after a weekend of auto racing:

– You have to laugh about everything that’s happened to poor Danica Patrick this year, her first full-time season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. She’s done just fine qualifying and the speed is there but Murphy’s Law has never been more clearly defined than when applied to her when she's road-course racing.

Earlier this year, at Road America, she was less than a half-lap from a top five finish when Jacques Villeneuve forgot to brake and knocked her off the track.

Last week at Watkins Glen, she was on the inside going into Turn One when a car that went flying past her on the grass re-entered the track right in front of her and stopped. She had nowhere to go and hit it dead-on, knocking her out of the race.

Saturday at le Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, she qualified fourth and was leading the race - leading - when somebody threw a shoe on the track and she hit it. I mean, really. She had other mechanical problems but when she hit that shoe her race went south, so the timing couldn’t have been worse.

One of these days, she will win and that will get the monkey off her back. There’s no doubt the talent’s there; she’s just got to get it all together – speed, strategy, race craft and, most important for her, luck.

Justin Allgaier won his first road-course race at Montreal and the third of his Nationwide career, with Sam Hornish Jr. second and Jacques Villeneuve third. Details here

Now, it has been suggested by some that NASCAR kept throwing yellows so that a "regular" could win the race instead of a ringer, particularly if said ringer happened to be the son of the guy the Montreal circuit’s named after.

If not for the phantom yellows that left him low on fuel, or so go the the theories, Jacques Villeneuve would have won the race.

Now, JV denied that he was running out of gas on the final lap (although he did run out on the cooldown lap) and lost the race because Allgaier ran into him. Maybe. But there’s no doubt he was worred he was going to stall out because he was running noticeably slower on the last lap than the eventual winner.

Having said that, Allgaier didn’t have any fuel problems, so if NASCAR was playing fast and loose with the yellows, it didn’t appear to hurt him.

And nobody was shedding any tears for Villeneuve anyway. The Danica punt in Wisconsin was still fresh in everybody’s mind and he turned Alex Tagliani around late in the Montreal race. The fact that he was angry after being hit by Allgaier was really very amusing. Did somebody say it was like the pot calling the kettle black?

Two other quick notes: For the last fillup, Allgaier pitted later than the others, which explains why he had more fuel when the race got down to the short strokes. And why did he do that? Because at Road America in 2011, he ran out of fuel on the last lap. He obviously learned a lesson.

Oh, and Ron Fellows, Mississauga’s most famous athlete, finished fifth a week ago at Watkins Glen and was fifth at Montreal on Saturday. He is an absolutely incredible race driver.

– NASCAR hasn’t got a clue about yellows on road courses, period, as we saw at Montreal, and they sometimes over-react on ovals, too. David Gilliland lost control early in the Michigan Sprint Cup race Sunday afternoon and went flying through the infield grass but then got straightened out and went back on the track, albeit half a lap behind.

But he didn’t hit the wall and there was no damage or debris anywhere. But as soon as he started sliding, the yellow was on and there was really no need for it.

It’s a good excuse to close up the pack, though. Isn’t it . . . ?

– In the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race at Montreal, J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge won, with Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Que., second and Robin Buck of Campbellville third. Scott Steckly of Milverton was fourth, he’s the defending national champion, and the leader of this year’s championship chase, D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas, finished fifth. Next race is at Barrie Speedway Sept. 8.

- As NASCAR doesn’t have a clue about yellow flags on road courses, neither does it have a clue so far as passes for the lead on road courses are concerned. Their rule is that in the case of a yellow, the order of finish from the last completed lap will be the order for the restart. Fine on ovals, stinks on road courses.

Ranger had passed Fitzpatrick fair and square and was clear and away in front of him when somebody spun at the back of the pack and since they all hadn’t completed the lap, the order had to revert to the previous . . . yada, yada, yada – you know what I’m saying, eh? – and when they restarted the race J.R. was back in first and Ranger was second and that is not fair, not fair, not fair. (I sound like Jack Lemon as Prof. Fate in The Great Race. . .)

– Okay, moving right along, I apologize for making the same mistake over and over. Every time I write anything about Lewis Hamilton, I say he’s won two world championships. Of course, he’s only won one but that hasn’t seemed to penetrate my thick skull. The latest example was in a story I wrote on the weekend that appeared on wheels.ca and in Toronto Star Wheels. I could change it online but not in the paper. Sorry.

It’s like every time I go to write 1996. It always comes out 1969. Why?

– They say auto racing has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We saw both in the Sprint Cup race at Michigan Sunday.

With nine laps to go, Jimmie Johnson took the lead in the race and the TV cameras showed his crew chief, Chad Knaus, fist-pumping with delight. Three laps later, his engine let go and Greg Biffle went blowing by him.

Biffle went on to win the race and Johnson drove straight to the garage area. He passed a dejected Knaus, who was walking in the same direction. Details here

Remember that Grand Prix of Monaco a half-dozen years ago, in 2006, when Kimi Raikkonen dropped out while in second place and he got out of his car and was so angry that he kept his helmet on while he walked around the course to his yacht in the harbour, where he disappeared below decks?

Well, Johnson got out of his car yesterday and didn’t take off his helmet. He walked from his car, between several transport trucks and through the hospitality area on the way to his motorhome.

He was obviously so upset that one of his PR aides, a woman, started to follow him and then thought better of it, staying behind in the garage area.

It's not often that you see Jimmie Johnson so browned off.

– By the way, while the Nationwide stock cars were at Montreal, the Camping World Truck Series was the support race for the Sprint Cup cars in Michigan and that race Saturday was won by Nelson Piquet Jr.

Piquet, who was forced to leave Formula One after admitting to participation in the conspiracy to fix the Singapore GP in 2008, would appear to have completed his rehabilitation. Look for him to move up to Sprint Cup before long.

– Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas won the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series race at Montreal on Saturday. Paul Tracy was third (with others). Alex Tagliani finished seventh. John Edwards and Robin Liddell won in GT. Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato driving the AIM Autosport of Woodbridge Ferrari were second in GT. Paul Dalla Lana of Toronto, who was featured in Wheels last weekend and who won the GT class at Watkins Glen a week ago, had a miserable race in Montreal and didn’t finish. There were only 21 cars in the Montreal race – and people can make as many excuses as they want but it’s the border. Americans competing in semi-professionals series like the Grand Am Rolex and the American Le Mans Series and who are field-fillers will run all the races in the U.S. and skip the ones up here. It’s a shame.

– At Road America, where 35 cars showed up for the American le Mans Series race (as compared to 26 that started the ALMS race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport in July, see?), the closest finish in the history of the series took place with the P1 Lola-Mazda entry of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith defeating Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr in their Muscle Milk HPD ARX-Honda by 0.083 seconds.

Tony Burgess of Toronto (and others) was third overall. Martin Plowman and David Heinemeier were first in P2, Tom Kimber-Smith, Jon Bennett and Alex Powpow were first in Prototype Challenge (Kyle Marcelli of Barrie, and others, who was on pole in PC, finished third in class and seventh overall), Bill Auberlen and Jorg Muller were winners in the GT class and Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen were first in GT Challenge.

By the way, P2 driver Scott Tucker finished 11^th and 12^th overall in the race and third and fourth in the Prototype 2 class. How?

He teamed with Christophe Bouchut in one car – he did the first stint of driving – and with Luis Diaz in the second – he drove the final stint in the second car.

– In Canadian Touring Car Championship action at Montreal, Sasha Annis won the first race in Super Touring, with Jocelyn Hebert tops in Touring Class and Karl Wittmer in B-Spec. In the second race, Marc-Antoine Camirand was the winner in Super Touring, Damon Sharpe won Touring Class and Wittmer repeated in B-Spec.

The Touring Car championship will wrap its season over Labour Day weekend at Calabogie Motorports Park.

– Robbie Wickens of Guelph and Toronto had his best weekend in the German Touring Car Championship since he started his rookie season in the spring. He qualified ninth and finished seventh at the Nurburgring driving for Mercedes. Canadian driver Bruno Spengler won the race in a BMW.

– In World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series action, Sammy Swindell got over his disappointment at missing out on starting the Knoxville Nationals by winning the feature at Grand Forks, N.D., at the weekend.

In other sprint car news, Dustin Daggett of Grand Ledge, Mich., won the Northern Summer Nationals Championship by finishing first in the feature at Chatham-area South Buxton Speedway Saturday night.

- And two weeks out from the Budweiser Oswego Classic 200 for supermodifieds, Joe Gosek won his 42nd feature at the famous northern New York Oswego Speedway, which puts him fourth on the all-time win list behind Eddie Bellinger Jr., Bentley Warren and Jim Shampine.

And by finishing fifth in the super feature, Otto Sitterly of Canajoharie, N.Y., won his fifth Oswego Speedway track championship. I think Sitterly has one of the neatest names in all of auto racing, right up there with Parnelli Jones. I also think Otto has the talent to go to Indy. His sometimes-supermodified teammate, Davey Hamilton, could help pave the way.

Versatile Tagliani wins NASCAR pole in Montreal



You hear the question again and again: why can’t open wheel drivers make the transition to stock cars? Why can’t winners in Indy car racing, say, transition over to NASCAR and win?

The people who ask those question, of course, are primarily NASCAR reporters and fans who love sticking it to the Indy car drivers.

Although Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. haven’t exactly set the world on fire in NASCAR, and the jury is still out on Danica Patrick, they conveniently forget that Tony Stewart did it (from Indy car champion to NASCAR champion is pretty good) and they are currently overlooking another guy who’s pretty good at it too.

His name is Alex Tagliani, who’s a top-level Indy car star who’s driving in stock cars as well as sports cars this weekend in Montreal as the Nationwide Series makes its annual visit to le Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

In fact, in today’s Nationwide race, he’ll start on the pole. Horish will start beside him, with old friends Jacques Villeneuve and Danica Patrick beside him on the second row.

(An aside here: I earlier wrote that for the first time that I can remember, there is not one regular Sprint Cup driver in today’s race. At the last moment, Kyle Busch flew in from Michigan and planned to start at the back of the field.)

In any event, "Tag" is on pole and he seems to do really well every time he climbs into a stock car. In fact, years ago he saved his Indy car career when he won a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race in Edmonton and demonstrated in front of the Champ Car World Series owners that he still very much "had it."

This is not the first time that a hometown hero has won the pole in Montreal. Carpentier did it in 2007 and Villeneuve sat on it last year, but that didn’t mean Tag wasn’t overjoyed.

"I want to dedicate this pole to the fans who come and make this event so special," said Tagliani, while pointing to the grandstands. "I feel that there was still a tenth or two left in the car. I wanted to do a third flying lap with the tire pressures and temperatures at their best but my crew chief, Trent Owens, wanted me to save fuel so we have one more lap to go in our first stint in the race."

After the Nationwide race, Tagliani will have to change driving styles because he'll be driving in tonight's Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series race, also at Montreal.

All of these races - plus a tape of the Canadian Tire race which was held this morning (which was won by J.R. Fitzpatrick, after a thrilling duel with Andrew Ranger) - are on TV today. Please check George's TV listings For Race Fans  on this site for times and channels.

One last thing: unless she's winning the race, don't be surprised if Patrick delivers a little payback today to Villeneuve for the incident at Road America  several months ago where he got into the back of her car on the last lap and robbed her of a fifth-place finish.

These things happen in racing but it was his "not my fault, I don't care" response later that annoyed people, including his sponsor who went so far as to issue a statement critical of the one-time F1 world champion.

'Glen duel makes case for more NASCAR road races

On Saturday, Toronto Star Wheels published a cover story by freelance writer Sylvia Proudfoot about Toronto driver Paul Dalla Lana, an ultra-successful businessman, husband and father who discovered auto racing later in life than most. In case you missed it, here’s the link.

The news today is that Saturday evening, Dalla Lana and co-driver (and coach) Bill Auberlen finished first in the GT Class of the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series race at Watkins Glen, N.Y. For Auberlen, it was his 85^th race win and his 180^th podium finish in the Grand Am series.

Dalla Lana and Auberlen have scored eight top-five GT finishes in the nine Rolex races they’ve driven together in 2012. They have two wins and four podium finishes in their No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3.

They are now second in the GT championship standings, with three races remaining. The first of those three takes place at Montreal next weekend.

Now, there are exactly two road course races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and none in the Chase for the Championship and I really want to know how come?

With the the exception of Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, Richmond, Martinsville and one or two others, why aren’t all the other Sprint Cup races on road courses?

You want excitement? You want drama? I give you yesterday’s race at Watkins Glen as a prime example of what NASCAR racing could be - and mostly isn’t.

You want boring? You want predictable? I give you Las Vegas, California, Homestead, Loudon, Kansas, Indianapolis, Pocono – and I could go on and on.

Marcos Ambrose won that edge-of-your-seat nailbiter at the Glen yesterday, with Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson winding up second and third. Clint Bowyer was fourth and Sam Hornish Jr. (and ain’t that a kick in the pants!) finished fifth, ahead of Greg Biffle, Kyle Bush, Matt Kenseth, Regan Smith and Martin Truex Jr.

When the smoke had cleared (literally) Johnson is leading the points standings with Kenseth and Biffle right behind. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who’s been leading the standings of late, is now back in fourth after a 28th-place finish yesterday.

Now, essentially what happened on the last lap is that Keselowski, who was running second to Kyle Busch with Ambrose third, hit Busch and spun him around. This resulted in damage to the front of Keselowski’s car and, although he gave as good as he got for the rest of the lap, Ambrose had a better handling car and was able to get past him at the end.

The thing that impressed me the most is that both Ambrose and Keselowski gave each other room to race. Several times that last lap, they were both off the track and each time the one who got back on the tarmac first allowed the other driver to get back on too.

Yes, they were pushing and bumping and rubbing and all the other good things that NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers do but, in the end, they both fought fair.

Here, take a look yourself.

Ambrose has had more than 140 Sprint Cup starts and now has two wins – yesterday was his second and they both have come on the road course at the Glen. That ties him for wins (also on road courses) with Juan Pablo Montoya, but Montoya has had more than 200 starts.

Now, I know that NASCAR and the majority of its fans would not go for as many road course races as somebody like me would like. But surely, after watching yesterday’s slugfest at Watkins Glen, they would have to agree that several more could be inserted into the regular schedule and at least one into the Chase.

I mean, do they have to go to Loudon twice, to Phoenix twice, to Kansas twice? Of course they don’t - and right there you have room for three more road-course races.

Other weekend racing:

Keselowski also finished second in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen on the weekend. He couldn’t catch the winner, Carl Edwards, but held off Sam Hornish Jr., who was third (and what a weekend he had!). Danica Patrick recorded her worst finish in NASCAR racing: dead last – although it wasn’t her fault. She was just driving along, going into the first corner on the first lap and Ryan Truex went sliding by on the grass and slid back onto the track right in front of her and stopped. She had nowhere to go. Ron Fellows of Mississauga, incidentally, finished fifth. Fellows, Patrick as well as Jacques Villeneuve, Andrew Ranger, Alex Tagliani and Patrick Carpentier will all be in action next weekend at Circuit-Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. . . .

Jordan Szoke of Brantford won the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship round at Le Circut-Mont Tremblant on Sunday and moved closer to clinching his astounding and unprecedented eighth (that’s 8^th) national motorycle championship. He took the lead on lap 4 of the 12-lap race aboard his Waznie Racing/Parts Canada/BMW Motorrad/Canada BMW S1000RR bike and was never headed. Matthew McBride of Mississauga finished second and Jodi Christie of Keene, Ont., who’s second in the standings, was third. The 2012 season will conclude in two weeks with a double-header at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, north of Bowmanville. . . .

Returning to Watkins Glen for a moment, Ryan Dalziel and Lucas Luhr won the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series race Saturday, with Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Powpow second and Scott Pruett with Memo Rojas third – all wheeling Riley Daytona Prototype cars with the first two powered by Fords and the third-place car by a BMW motor. As reported above, Auberlen and Dalla Lana were the first GT car; they finished eighth overall. The AIM Autosport of Woodbridge Team Ferrari FXDD with drivers Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato still lead the GT standings but had a disastrous race with a first-lap crash leading to a lengthy pit stop and a seventh-place class finish. . . .

At the 52^nd Knoxville Nationals, which is the Indy 500 and Monaco Grand Prix of sprint car racing all rolled into one, Donny Schatz won his sixth A Main in the last seven years and his second straight but the big story of the night was that for the first time since the 1970s, the race rolled off without either Steve Kinser or Sammy Swindell in the 24-car field. Local racer and Knoxville track champion Brian Brown finished second, with Craig Dollansky third, Kraig Kinser fourth and Jason Meyers fifth. As well as Kinser, who hasn’t missed the feature since 1977, and Swindell, who’s been in every race in 1975, four-time Knoxville champion Danny Lasoski also failed to qualify. . . .

Sticking with sprint cars, Dain Naida of Tecumseh, Mich., won the Southern Ontario Sprints feature at Brighton Speedway Saturday. Chris Jones of Carrying Place and Jamie Collard of Burford, Ont., was third. . . .

At Calabogie Motorsports Park, Kyle Marcelli of Barrie drove his Pfaff Automotive entry to victory in both Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin series races but since he is a professional racing driver (the American Le Mans Series), he can’t collect points.

At the end of the weekend (and the season, it turns out), Jean-Frederick Laberge is the Platinum champion, Bruce Gregory won the Gold championship and Robert Seitz was tops in Silver. I understand new Porsches are already being ordered up for next season. . . .

Is Dodge name in NASCAR up for sale?

Erica Enders (left) and Courtney Force each claimed victories during the NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. (NHRA Photo)

Precede to this column:  It's official. Dodge has withdrawn from NASCAR as of the end of 2012. Click here for the official video statement. However, the premise of my analysis still stands. If a team wants to lease the name, Dodge, from Chrysler Corp., and get a leg up on the competition in advance of the company returning to NASCAR, then a deal can surely be made. Meantime . . .

It’s always interesting to scan the headlines on numrous websites following a weekend of racing:

1. Katherine Legge returns as Dragon Racing gets back to two cars for Sonoma IndyCar race.

2. Lotus sure of stronger second half.

3. Furniture Row may switch to Dodge

My reaction to those three headlines is as follows:

1. Yippee. Can hardly wait.

2. Somebody better tell those guys that this is racing, and nothing is a guarantee.

3. Huh?

So, let’s focus on No. 3.

General Motors, Ford and Toyota are committed to NASCAR racing in 2013. Dodge, not so much. In fact, Dodge has been sending signals for some time that it really doesn’t know what it’s going to do in NASCAR in 2013, if anything.

Just this weekend, Penske Racing’s Tim Cindric told reporters that up till a week ago, Penske and Dodge had been talking about Penske continuing to build engines for a Dodge entry in NASCAR next season, even though Penske announced months ago that the race team would be running Fords in 2013 and would get them from Roush-Yates.

But the Dodge engine option is officially gone now, Cindric said. He went on: "Relative to us, they said they’re going in a different direction. We don’t see there being any more potential on the NASCAR side with Dodge."

Now, when I say that some manufacturers are still committed, that doesn’t mean what it once did. Hundreds of millions of dollars of investment are now tens of millions – if that.

Dodge is owned by Chrysler which is owned by Fiat. The guy who runs Fiat is Sergio Marchionne and he looks at the whole, not just the parts. He’s a guy who’s very aware of every dollar and cent that’s spent anywhere in the company in the world.

He knows, for instance, that it doesn’t look good for Chrysler to ask its auto workers in one country to take a pay cut and then turn around and spend millions on a racing program in another, particularly if that racing program isn’t going to be successful.

You would think the folks at Furniture Row Racing would know that. But team general manager Joe Garone said that "if Dodge comes to us, and says here’s the right deal, then we would do it."

As I’m sure anybody would. . .

But I don’t really think that’s what’s going to happen.

As a friend of mine who’s very involved in automobile manufacturing says: "In Chrysler’s case, they want the whole deal taken off their hands and to be paid for it. In exchange, they will licence or lease out the Dodge name. If no one can do it that way, then that’s it."

(Norris note here: I would suggest that’s what Cindric was saying when he said "they are going in a different direction . . . and we don’t see there being any more potential."  Translation: they want money and we ain’t payin’ . . .)

My friend continued:

"There’s as much money out there as ever before, it’s just being pushed in different directions. There isn’t the interest in NASCAR any more. NASCAR has had its day, the ROI (return on investment) is no longer there."

That doesn’t mean the end of NASCAR, or IndyCar, or whatever car. It just means the whole auto racing industry will have to get leaner, yet again, and to live much more within its means.

And to get along without manufacturer support.

Talking about living within your means, there’s a story on the speedtv.com site about Luis Perez-Sala, the new boss of the HRT Formula One team, and how everything was in disarray when he took over.

The first thing he did, apparently, was to move the team "into plush new  headquarters" in Madrid.

The car might still stink, but the headquarters are plush and, like so much in F1 these days, that seems to be what counts.

Oh, and in the failed-drug-tests department, move over A.J., you've got company. Former F1 and IndyCar driver Thomas Enge has been banned for 18 months by the FIA for flunking a pee test. He was suspended once previously for using marijuana.

Weekend Results roundup:

– At Trois-Riveres, Que., D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas did not win the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race. That is big news, seeing as Kennington had won the five previous races in Canada’s only national racing series.

Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Que., who has won the Trois-Rivieres race four times out of the last six, was first again this year, with L.P. Dumoulin finishing second in front of his hometown crowd and J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge coming home third. Kennington was fifth, behind Robin Buck of Campbellville.

The next outing for the NASCAR Canada series will be at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve Aug. 18 as part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the fabled circuit.

Also at Trois-Rivieres, Tristan Vautier won the Indy Lights race and Nick Wittmer of Hudson, Que.., won the new B-Spec class in the Canadian Touring Car Championship Series while Marc-Antoine Camirand won both Super Touring class races, with Paul Dargis and Alain Lauzier winning in Touring class.

– At the Mid-Ohio IndyCar race Sunday, James Hinchcliffe of Oakville drove a fine race to finish fifth (he had a poor qualifying session and went off 16^th) and improved his place in the points standings. Montreal’s Alex Tagliani had another Top Ten finish. The race was won by Scott Dixon, with Will Power second and Simon Pagenaud third.

It was the second straight IndyCar race without a caution.

– Bad weather forced the cancellation of the elimination rounds at Toronto Motorsports Park on Sunday so drag racing fans who show up at Grand Bend Motoplex this coming weekend for the Stratford Spectacular Hot August Nationals will be in for a real treat.

In addition to a full program featuring the Pro Modified Racing Association, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series and the Pro Bike & Sled Series, the elimination rounds from TMP will be added.

Bruce Boland of Hamilton qualified No. 1 in the PMRA, Kevin Wicke of Stratford and James Lichty of Linwood led the Quick 32 qualifyers and Danny Staples of Ingersoll was No. 1 in the PBSS. All will be looking to extend their dominance at Grand Bend.

– Speaking of drag racing, two women made NHRA history at the weekend. Courtney Force won the Funny Car class and Erica Enders won in Pro Stock. It is the first time in the history of the NHRA that women finished first in two of the top four classes.

– The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be at Watkins Glen at the weekend for the second road race of the season (and, to my mind, there should be at least a half-dozen among the 36 races flagged off each season, instead of just two).

Bill France Jr. once told me that Watkins Glen is a "Canadian race," as are the ones at New Hampshire and Michigan. I guess that means since we’ve already got three, we won’t be getting any more anytime soon . . .

In any event, Jeff Gordon will be fresh off his "victory" at Pocono Raceway last Sunday, which was red-flagged and declared official just before the 100-lap mark because of rain. Kasey Kahne was second and Martin Truex finished third.

Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth were ahead on the restart but Johnson got sideways and pushed Kensenth up to the wall and Gordon, plus the rest, snuck past in the ensuing melee. Then the rains came.

Ron Fellows of Mississauga will be driving in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, which will be a warmup for the Nationwide event at Montreal on Aug. 18. Of course, any time that Fellows climbs into a racing car, he’s at, or near, the front. So expect a show.

– Finally, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will be at Knoxville, Iowa, this coming weekend for the 52^nd Knoxville Nationals. No word on whether Tony Stewart will be there but I guarantee you that the series regulars are crossing their fingers he’ll be too busy at the Glen to fly out or else they’ll all be fighting for second place.

He’s raced with the Outlaws a couple of times this season and won twice, most recently a week ago at Ohsweken Speedway out near Brantford. It was no contest that time.

Schumi to Ferrari? Allmendinger rumours

Friday morning musings:

1. Ferrari has let the option to pick up Felipe Massa’s contract for 2013 lapse, which means he will not be in the team next year.

By interviewing Mark Webber for the job, Ferrari tipped that it’s looking for a solid second banana rather than a young speedster who would make Fernando Alonso uncomfortable.

There’s another veteran in F1 who doesn’t have a contract for next year. He’s fast — but not fast enough to really challenge Alonso — and he has strong ties to Ferrari.

I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that Michael Schumacher could sign on for 2013 and then ride off into the sunset for the last time wearing Ferrari red.

2. A.J. Allmendinger has still not said anything about what made him flunk the NASCAR drug test. There are suggestions it had to do with emphetamines and his business people are pushing the “accidental” angle — that somehow, something he ingested legally put him over the line and it was all an accident. I’m hearing it was something else entirely. And that’s the problem: when there is no clear explanation forthcoming, the rumours start. Speak up, A.J., before it’s too late.

3. Danica Patrick told the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Thursday that she wants to do the “double” next U.S. Memorial Day weekend — the Indianapolis 500 as well as the Coca-Cola 600 — if the logistics can be worked out and she can get a good ride at Indy. She’ll be driving in the Sprint Cup series for Tony Stewart next year and he’s done it previously, so if she wants to try I can’t see him standing in her way. Who knows? Perhaps he’ll start laying the groundwork for the eventual establishment of an Indy car team to compliment his NASCAR team after he retires from driving. If Roger, Chip and maybe Michael can do it, why not him?

4. JR Motorsports has launched a contest around everybody’s favourite all-‘round Canadian driver, Ron Fellows, who will be competing for them at Watkins Glen and at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in the Nationwide Series in August. Go to www.JRMracing.com or www.Fellows5.com for contest details and questions. The Grand Prize is a three-day driving experience package at Ron Fellows Performance Driving School at Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club outside Las Vegas.

5. While a lot of attention will be on Paul Tracy in the Daytona Prototype class this afternoon in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, let’s not lose track of the fact that the AIM Autosport of Woodbridge Ferrari driven by Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato is very likely going to win the GT class in that race. Segal will start the race with the best race-win record in the series as well as the GT class championship points lead. Segal and the first-year AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari program also have a series-best six GT podium finishes in the season’s first eight races, with only one result out of the top four all year.

6. I’ve been in the newspaper (and radio and TV) biz for longer than I can even remember. One of the things I was taught by my very first city editor, Jim Pauk, was to use language that people can understand. Ergo (that’s a fancy word for “therefore”), I can’t figure out why modern communication specialists (they used to be called “reporters”) have to copy down, or repeat, everything the way it’s written or spoken. This is particularly true when it comes to medical explanations. These days, you would think we are all doctors, the way things come out in the paper and on the web. Example. Charlie Kimball apparently crashed during an IndyCar test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.  All the stories are reporting that he suffered a fracture of the fifth metacarpal of his right hand. Okay, I’m not stupid. I suspect he has a broken hand. But why not just say it? What the heck if a metacarpal? Same thing with broken legs. Why not say, “broken leg?” Why say, “fracture of the femur?”

7. Chevrolet announced Thursday that its NASCAR Nationwide Series car for 2013 will be the Camaro. The Camaro, as we all know, is built in Oshawa. Wouldn’t it be neat if the Nationwide Series and the Grand Am Rolex Series raced a double-header at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park next summer? Maybe everybody employed at GM Oshawa would get a free ticket so they could cheer on “Canada’s car!”

8. Okay – so this is my scenario for 2013: Continuing student unrest in Montreal forces F1 to review the Canadian Grand Prix. Its future there could be in jeopardy. So Montreal needs a new headline event for Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. How about a NASCAR Sprint Cup race? This means the Nationwide Series event would be free to move to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The Grand Am Rolex could support both. The NASCAR trucks could double-head with the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at CTMP. Add the American Le Mans Series and the Canadian motorcycle championship and Summer 2013 at the facility north of Bowmanville could be non-stop action. I’m dreaming – but it’s a nice dream. (Oh, I have a sollution to the F1 problem. Coming Monday.)

Elvis Stojko reveals plans to race cars

FLASH: Canada may soon have a new racing hero to cheer for.

As Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve walk off into the sunset, leaving James Hinchcliffe, Robert Wickens and Alex Tagliani to carry the Canadian flag into battle, champion figure skater Elvis Stojko revealed today that he's about to launch a car racing career.

During an interview on the Fan 590 radio station in Toronto, Stojko - who'd been contacted to talk about the upcoming Summer Olympics in London (he's a three-time Olympic silver medalist in figure skating) - let it be known that he was in serious training for a season of shifter-kart racing.

There's a wonderful world-class kart facility at le Circuit-Mont Tremblant race track north of Montreal and Stojko said he was spending a week there to hone his skills as a kart racer.

"My arms hurt and my body aches but I'm having a great time," he said after telling his interviewer that the kart he's training in this week is capable of an average speed of 160 km/h.

Stojko said his wife, Mexican figure skater Gladys Orozco, used to race karts as a child and is fully supportive of his ambition.

It was then that he said his plan is to become a car racer, although he didn't reveal whether that would be in single-seaters, sedans or stock cars.

Now, if I was Francois Dumontier, president and CEO of Octane Racing, which promotes the F1 race in Montreal and the Edmonton Indy, I would be on the phone to Stojko asap to invite him to compete in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race he'll be promoting at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve next month.

That race weekend needs help - the Canadian Tire series is part of a double-header with the NASCAR Nationwide Series - and has been successful in large part because of the presence of famous Canadian racers, particularly French-Canadian racing stars.

But Carpentier had to be enticed out of retirement for this year's race and Villeneuve and Tagliani are not the draws they once were. Danica Patrick will be there but the Cup stars (other than Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose) have never embraced that race.

But Elvis Stojko? In a stock car? I betcha that would sell some tickets.

Meantime, good luck to Elvis. His participation in motorsports will draw a lot of attention from people who wouldn't normally be interested.

Figure skating has a huge fan base and if even some of them become race fans as a result, it will be a real shot in the arm for the sport.

Earlier:

Latino top drag racer; Touring cars, Porsches thrill

Although this is a few days later, here is what happened last weekend in "local" racing:

(My definition of "local" racing is racing that is not Formula One, NASCAR, American LeMans/Grand Am or IndyCar . . .)

Before we concentrate on the major Canadian races in support of the ALMS at Mosport – Canadian Touring Cars and the Porsche GT3 Challenge Canada – let’s catch up with Ontario drag racing.

At the Bend Motoplex, Eric Latino of Whitby won the Pro Modiified Racing Association headline event at the IHRA MOPAR Nitro Jam Nationals. It was his fourth victory in PMRA competition.

Driving his Team Green ‘69 Chevy Camaro, Latino – who’d qualified fourth behind PMRA points leader Bruce Boland of Hamilton – defeated Rocky Di Lecce of Mississaugua in the final round.

Latino is now in second place in the PMRA 2012 Series presented by Global Emissions Systems, Inc., behind Boland, who has a 26-point lead.

Next time out for the drag racers is the August Civic Holiday weekend at Toronto Motorsports Park. In addition to the PMRA, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA and the Pro Bike & Sled Series presented by Wiseco Performance Products will also compete at TMP.

Now, before we leave the drag racers, Melanie Simmons and her Toyrific Racing Top Dragster Team, based in Orillia, has signed a product marketing agreement with Aeroquip Performance Products and will be flying its colours at drag meets for the foreseeable future.

You know, it doesn’t matter whether it’s drag racing or circuit racing or oval racing, when you add it all up, Canadian companies and corporations are investing millions of dollars in motorsport and I urge fans everywhere to patronize the businesses and purchase the products of those companies.

Moving right along, the World of Outlaws sprint cars – the F1 and Indy cars of sprint car racing – are coming to Canada Friday for a four-speedway swing that will see them wrap up at Ohsweken Speedway on the Six Nations Reserve next Tuesday night.

At Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania last weekend, Steve Kinser received a cheque for $10,000 for leading the series at the halfway point of the season.

Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Joey Saldana, Craig Dolansky and the rest of the Outlaws will race at Autodrome Granby and Autodrome Drummondville in Quebec on Friday and Saturday nights, then move to Cornwall Speedway on Sunday before finishing off the Canadian swing at Ohsweken on Tuesday.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you have never seen an Outlaws race, you are missing one of the most incredible forms of racing in the world. They don’t come by this part of the world all that often, so don’t miss them.

Tony Stewart will be the big draw at Ohsweken. In fact, he’ll be there for a 360 sprint car race Monday night as well as Tuesday night with the Outlaws. Reserved seats are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the speedway.

Okay, last weekend at Mosport, the Canadian Touring Car Championship raced twice – on Saturday and Sunday and both at the end of the day, which meant the track was less than perfect.

In the first race Saturday, Remy Audette was the winner in Super Touring class, followed by Bob Attrell and Philip Fayer. Series leader Sasha Anis spun in fluid early in the race and crashed.

In Touring Class, Alain Lausiere was first, followed by Damon Sharpe and Jonathan Young. In B-Spec Class, Nick Wittmer was first, followed by his brother Karl. Guest media driver Russ Bond finished a wonderful third.

In the race on Sunday – the tenth round of the season – Anis recovered wonderfully from his terrible Saturday, starting 18^th and passing everybody to finish on the top step of the podium. Attrell was second again, followed by Scott Nicol. In the Touring and B-Spec Classes, the contestants finished exactly the same way they had on Saturday.

The series now goes to Trois-Rivieres, Que., the first weekend in August.

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, which is the fastest-growing single-make series in North America, also held two races.

In the first, on Saturday, Carlos de Quesada was first in Platinum class, with Perry Bortolotti second and John Ellis third. In Gold class, Chris Green was first, followed by Robert Maranda and Bruce Gregory. Finally, in Silver class, Robert Seitz was first, with Leho Poldmae second and Gavor Foti third.

In the second race on Sunday, Etienne Borgeat was first in Platinum class, with Jean-Frederick Laberge second and Bortolotti third. Green repeated as Gold class winner, with Gregory second and Peter Collins third. In Silver class, Seitz was first again, with Foti and Poldmae switching places from Saturday for second and third.

Both races were actually won by Kyle Marcelli of Barrie but, since he is a professional racing driver and the other participants are semi-pros or non-professionals (I hate the word amateur), he participated as a guest driver and his results were not counted.

Ron Fellows to partner Danica at 3 Nationwide races

Veteran Canadian road racer - and now racing circuit co-owner - Ron Fellows of Mississauga will partner Danica Patrick at three NASCAR Nationwide Series races between now and Labour Day as he once again has agreed to terms with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team.

Fellows will return to the seat he’s occupied for the last four years for the Nationwide races at Road America this weekend, Watkins Glen on Aug. 11 and Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on Aug. 18.

Patrick, in her first full season of Nationwide competition, and regular teammate Cole Whitt have been joined on occasion this season by a third driver - including their boss, Earnhardt.

Fellows is a former winner for JR Motorsports, finishing first in JRM’s No. 5 Chevrolet at the Montreal race in 2008. In his NASCAR career, Fellows has won four Nationwide races; the other three all came at Watkins Glen. 

“I have competed in a lot of races with JR Motorsports, and it’s been great fun,” Fellows said. “They have an amazing group of people, and we've been competitive at almost all of the races. 

 

"That's what brings me back and keeps me young. My relationship with Dale Jr. began more than 10 years ago, and I'm proud to have driven for both him and his father.”

 

Fellows will race at Road America, where he finished second in the Nationwide race a year ago, with sponsorship from AER Manufacturing,  a world leader in engine remanufacturing.

 

AER is a long-time Fellows sponsor, racing with him in the Trans Am Series, the American Le Mans Series and periodically in NASCAR since 1990. 

 

Canadian Tire, the iconic automotive retailer in Canada, will sponsor Fellows at Watkins Glen and Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Canadian Tire, which has sponsored Fellows at JR Motorsports for the past three years, also has the naming rights for Mosport International Raceway, which is owned by Fellows and Carlo Fidani, and has rebranded it Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

 

“This is Ron’s fifth year driving for JR Motorsports, and each year we are excited to welcome him back,” said JR Motorsports general manager, Kelley Earnhardt Miller. 

 

“He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the road courses, and he makes us an instant contender before we ever unload the car. Watching Ron Fellows negotiate a road course is one of the pure joys of racing.”

 

Fellows will be paired with veteran crew chief Tony Eury Sr. The duo found success in 2010, racing to one top-five and two top-10 finishes in three races.

 

A native of Windsor who grew up in Sarnia and Bramalea, Fellows won multiple class championships with Corvette Racing at Le Mans and in the ALMS. won 19 Trans Am races, won the 24 Hours of Daytona overall, and has six victories in NASCAR, including two in trucks.

 

He's finished second twice in Sprint Cup competition and still talks about a Sprint Cup victory as being "unfinished business."

 

Check "George's TV listings for race fans" on the wheels.ca home page for television coverage and times.

 

Postscript: Several people who commented about my Monday blog post referred to me as a Dale Earnhardt Jr. "hater."

 

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I have three favourite drivers in the Sprint Cup - Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart and Dale Jr.

 

But that doesn't mean I can't be critical and I stand by what I said: I don't know how in the world a driver with his talent and the resources - financial and otherwise - of Hendrick Motorsports behind him could go four years without winning a race.

 

I don't know how that makes me a "hater."